New Mexico Senate approves interlock license bill

SANTA FE State senators Thursday approved a bill allowing drunken drivers who maim or kill someone to obtain an ignition interlock license after they complete their sentence.

Inspired by a Carlsbad case in which a 20-year-old caused the death of a friend, the bill carried 38-0.

Gov. Susana Martinez for the last two years has vetoed similar bills that were less strict. They would have allowed those guilty of vehicular homicide or causing great bodily harm by vehicle to regain driving privileges before completing probation or parole.

Martinez said she would not sign those bills for a simple reason.

"To do so would minimize the severity of these offenses, making them equivalent to traditional DUI offenses," she said.

This time, the bill should be tough enough to get the governor's signature, said the sponsor, Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo.

The vehicular homicide case behind the bill occurred in 2008. Diana Carrasco, then 20, lost control of the car she was driving and it rolled over, killing one of her passengers, Katherine Kirkes.

"It was her best friend," Griggs said.

Court records show that Carrasco pleaded guilty in July 2009 to vehicular homicide and aggravated drunken driving.

A judge placed her on probation for five years, but she was prohibited by law from driving, even to keep appointments with her probation officer.

Former Sen. Vernon Asbill, R-Carlsbad, twice introduced bills to allow people in Carrasco's situation to receive an interlock license.

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His bills cleared the Legislature in 2011 and last year, but Martinez vetoed them as too lenient.

Griggs said someone such as Carrasco could never get a driver's license under existing law. His bill would make it possible for her to receive an interlock license upon completion of her probationary sentence.

He said this complies with the change Martinez wanted, so he was confident his bill would become law.

Griggs said he believed the change would be just.

"People need to be able to drive to get to work, to get to school or to go to court-ordered treatment programs," he said. "If they are denied an interlock license, they are most likely denied an opportunity to support themselves and their families."

Griggs said Carrasco had turned around her life since causing the death of Kirkes, who was 27.

"To her credit, she's about to complete a master's degree," he said.

For Carrasco, the bill would represent a second chance.

"It would enable her to resume a normal life, as much as she can," Griggs said.

Griggs' proposal, Senate Bill 442, next goes to the House of Representatives. It would apply to those convicted of vehicular homicide or causing great bodily harm by vehicle.